language. Some of them told the delegation that had never fully understood why they had been arrested. Most of the indigenous prisoners with whom members of the delegation met, said that they had not known any Spanish at the time they were arrested. They explained to the delegation how they had been forced to sign a paper in which they admitted to having committed the offence with which they were charged, but without understanding, in most cases, what the offence was. Many of them had learned to speak Spanish after arriving at the prison in order to be able to communicate with other prisoners. None of those interviewed had been provided with the assistance of an indigenous-language interpreter at the time of their arrest. 257.The Subcommittee has already pointed out, in the section on public defence, that it is the lack of differentiated legal services in the criminal justice realm that puts indigenous persons at greatest risk of being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, especially at the initial stage of the preliminary investigation, because many do not know the Spanish language, because they do not understand the criminal justice system and because of all the factors that prevent them from understanding their legal status. 258. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party make every possible effort to ensure that indigenous peoples have differentiated access to justice, especially at the stages of legal proceedings in which they are at greatest risk of defencelessness and harm to their physical and mental integrity. 259. The Subcommittee wishes to remind the Mexican State of article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which establishes the obligation of States to take effective measures to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other appropriate means. 260. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party strengthen existing means of communication for indigenous persons deprived of their liberty and, where necessary, provide interpreters or other appropriate means of communication. The State should also ensure the application of an affirmative action approach in penitentiary institutions in order to enable indigenous persons deprived of their liberty to maintain their customs and practices to the greatest possible extent. In order not to compound the effect of their being uprooted from their ancestral lands and separated from their families, who have limited means for visiting them, the State should ensure that they are assigned or reassigned to the prison facility closest to their native communities. 3.Women 261.In all the places visited by the delegation, members had the opportunity to observe and evaluate the living conditions of female detainees. The main problems that the delegation noted were the same as for male prisoners. However, the Subcommittee wishes to comment on some of the situations that members of the delegation observed during the visit. 262.The delegation found conditions at the women’s military prison at Military Camp No. 1 to be satisfactory. The women imprisoned at the facility were able to take part in cultural and leisure activities. The facilities where they lived were satisfactory and the delegation observed that they were treated with dignity by the staff of the institution. In contrast, the delegation noted that conditions at the women’s section of the Central Prison in Oaxaca (Santa María Ixcotel) were very poor. The Subcommittee recalls its earlier comments on this facility in the section devoted to prisons, but wishes to add that the members of the delegation were concerned that the female prisoners reported suffering gender-based discrimination, not only by male prisoners but also by prison personnel. 263.In general, the delegation found that the women’s areas in the detention facilities visited were better maintained than the men’s areas. 264.Good management is a key factor in the prevention of torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities. The Subcommittee would like to cite the example of the Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre for Women in Jalisco, where the delegation observed how the commitment and dedication of the entire staff of the centre had been crucial to the truly positive results achieved. The delegation found that facility an example to be followed by other institutions where women deprived of their liberty are held. The atmosphere was family-like, the inmates had good relations with the staff, and inmates were able to participate in a wide variety of activities which delegation members felt would contribute to the social reintegration of women serving a sentence for some offence. The delegation was pleased to note that the women detained at this facility had the opportunity to work and improve their educational status and to participate in sports, religious, cultural and leisure activities. 265.At the same facility, the members of the delegation were pleasantly surprised by the early childhood education facility available for children aged 6 months to 3 years, which was on a par with any nursery school in the outside world. 266.The Subcommittee wishes to express its concern regarding the statements made by some of the women interviewed who reported that they had been mistreated by police officers at the time of their arrest. The Subcommittee is deeply concerned that most of the worst allegations heard by members of the delegation came from women who had been arrested and subsequently held under arraigo. The accounts that the delegation heard from such women in various states revealed a worrying pattern of police brutality. These women appeared terrified during their interviews with the delegation. At the federal arraigo detention facility (Centro Nacional de Arraigo), delegation members heard the testimony of one woman who had allegedly been raped by several policemen in the hours following her arrest. The Subcommittee urges the authorities of the State party to investigate all allegations of abuse and degrading treatment by police officers and stresses the duty of the State party to ensure that such conduct does not go unpunished. 267.The delegation also heard accounts of alleged ill-treatment of female friends or family members visiting persons deprived of their liberty in various prisons, particularly with regard to the body searches to which they were subjected. The Subcommittee recognizes that the State has a responsibility to monitor and control external and internal security at detention facilities and the possibility that people will try to bring in prohibited substances. However, the Subcommittee